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Patrick Bateman's Brother

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With saturation (Everywhere), pay cuts (Kroger), layoffs (Express Scripts), etc, why are any of you going into a field like this? There are warning signs everywhere! I know students accepted into pharmacy schools with - 3.0 gpa (That is not "Doctorate" degree material). This, hopefully, is beating a dead horse but why on earth are you purposely driving off the cliff?

I'm a pharm tech with 2 years of experience with a corporate retail pharmacy. One of the pharmacists I work with regrets writing LOR's for pre-pharm students because he's allowing them to go into the field while it's in the state that it's in.

For example, years ago, he (Jeff) once told a kid (Mike) to not go into the pharmacy because of the direction it's headed towards. Mike says how he's got it all wrong, and it'll be better when he gets out. (He even thinks about doing a residency...) Well, few years later Mike sees Jeff and tells him he was absolutely right. He hates it.

Recently, Mike just paid off his student loans. Mike also received news that he should expect a 20% decrease in pay if he wants to stay employed with Kroger.

Believe me, I value my time as a pharm tech because of my experiences, the people I've met, and the opportunities it's afforded me. I will miss it when I move on. However, I , nor any of the people I work with, can honestly recommend anyone going into this field.

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Sadly people will still go into the field with unreal expectations. The number of new schools opening up is only making the situation worse.


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There will always be students who think that they will remain safe from saturation because they are so hardworking and talented.

Newsflash: saturation affects all pharmacists, not just the ones that are underemployed or unemployed.
 
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I enjoy what I do as a pharmacy tech, even on the "bad" days it still is relatively enjoyable (working local, independent, rural retail). I considered medicine for a while, but I just get put off by the amount of schooling required. Pharmacy seems like a happy medium in terms of enjoyment, schooling, and pay. I understand the field is saturated and there are pay cuts, etc. I genuinely enjoy it though, and I would be fine working in a rural area as I do now. Maybe I am being foolish, though.
 
You can always do PA or NP and still have a good quality of life without the saturation problem.


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Why you gotta hard our buzz, man? My mom says she heard this was a great field and it's only going to grow! Provider status and residency will lead to the growth of new and emerging fields in pharmacy practice. All of your dinosaurs with your PharmDs just can't compete and differentiate yourself.

Seriously, at this point I would recommend for most people to steer clear of healthcare altogether. It's tiring, stressful, often thankless work. Saturation is affecting every field of healthcare, even medicine. Half of my generation caught on to the prosperity in healthcare and caused this huge glut of workers. You will not be valued and you will be considered expendable. Even if you are the brightest, most capable pharmacist, no one cares. The people making decisions at the top of the ladder don't understand what you do or why you are paid so much. Jobs are being cut and pay is being slashed. Don't say you weren't warned.
 
Peoples minds won’t be changed until all is said and done. Without a contingency plan taking on debt is nothing short of high risk.

Despite my “free-ride” at this point to any advanced degree I can’t help but think of early retirement and just stay in the uniformed services. If healthcare is gettn to this point it only makes me wonder more and more what would happen if I left my place of duty.
 
If you are say,an 0-2 in military pharmacy..you will be screwed and tatooed...unless you know for sure how it is on the line at say..WAGS.....Being a male in pharmacy is wimps-ville...If you are combat arms ..I dunno..all bets are off...try and go for 20..If Army will pay for school..be a logistics type or somesuch...stay out of helo's as they are un-natural....Do NOT trap yourself in retail pharmacy...I know nothing about hospitals...Keep a cool tool in the motor pool...
 
Please dis-regard everything in the post above. There is not a single word of coherent thought in it. If you have any questions, I am a prior-Army/current Air Force Lieutenant Colonel pharmacy officer. You can PM me on this site.
 
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If you are say,an 0-2 in military pharmacy..you will be screwed and tatooed...unless you know for sure how it is on the line at say..WAGS.....Being a male in pharmacy is wimps-ville...If you are combat arms ..I dunno..all bets are off...try and go for 20..If Army will pay for school..be a logistics type or somesuch...stay out of helo's as they are un-natural....Do NOT trap yourself in retail pharmacy...I know nothing about hospitals...Keep a cool tool in the motor pool...

I literally have no idea what you have said nor can I guess what your implying...

Although I’m sitting on the fence of taking my GI bill to pharmacy ( in hopes of returning back towards the commissioned side ) I can assure you as a currently enlisted pharm tech and ncoic that works along side our officer pharmacists there is a lot of pros / cons to deal with yet nothing I found in your “story” matches up.

For anyone reading this “thought” on military pharmacy please ignore and try not to translate. My personal concerns deal with job prospects “outside” of the services not in.
 
Please dis-regard everything in the post above. There is not a single word of coherent thought in it. If you have any questions, I am a prior-Army/current Air Force Lieutenant Colonel pharmacy officer. You can PM me on this site.

Sir I appreciate this offer and when I get adequate time I’ll PM you concerning my plans and your thoughts as far as myself going from active duty enlisted to commissioning side.
 
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Sir I appreciate this offer and when I get adequate time I’ll PM you concerning my plans and your thoughts as far as myself going from active duty enlisted to commissioning side.
Let me make this clear-er..Do NOT go to pharmacy school..If the Army will pay for advanced school in something else...go for it..A Lt. Col pharmacist likely knows NOTHING about being an RPH on the line at some chain..and likely even less about the real USAF...But..suit yourself...maybe it will work out...
 
Let me make this clear-er..Do NOT go to pharmacy school..If the Army will pay for advanced school in something else...go for it..A Lt. Col pharmacist likely knows NOTHING about being an RPH on the line at some chain..and likely even less about the real USAF...But..suit yourself...maybe it will work out...

I can concur on not wanting to work in the pharmacy as a civilian. Since the opportunity-window and regulations are forever changing in the services, this is what would have me worried if for any reason I was let go to the civilian side (despite being debt free for schooling). The idea of doing this outside of any of the branches makes me worry and to that I can agree this is not at all a go-to-choice for anyone trying to compete with extreme debt and saturation....not..at..all..
 
This should be sticky so people can read and understand. As a pharmacist for 12 years, I can see the job market is completely saturated , especially in high desired areas and cities. Meanwhile, other hard to staff places are no longer "hard to staff". New grads are begging for jobs everyday.
 
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You can live in the small city of your choice and earn 120k a year. That is very tough to do today in any field.
 
To the people who have good grades and thinking about Pharmacy because of only 4 years post undergrad, look into dental school.
 
You can live in the small city of your choice and earn 120k a year. That is very tough to do today in any field.

"You can have it your way, but only if it's our way."

Some troubling issues:

1. There is employment available at small cities, but the selection is not broad enough to say "you can live in the small city of your choice." You really do not have control over where you would end up, or even what shift you work.
2. How long would you have to live there before you could transfer? This is an ongoing problem and graduates could find themselves away from home easily for 5+ years.
3. How long would you be forced to live "poorly?" Earning 120k a year sounds good, but that is not guaranteed with paycuts and hours. Furthermore, after taxes and costs of living, there is even less. Tuition loans continue to accumulate high interest; it can easily take 5 to 10 years even for disciplined individuals to pay off even sums of "$150,000" let alone the $200,000+ that private schools wring out of students.
 
You can live in the small city of your choice and earn 120k a year. That is very tough to do today in any field.

This is not true at all, stop spreading misinformation. You will NOT be able to pick small city of your choice. Usually it will be somewhere noone wants to go to. Small cities often have 1 or 2 hospitals at most and contrary to what you think, theyre not always hiring. But hey, if you find going to local walmart, fast food places as exciting for your source of entertainment to spend your "120k" then go for it. For what it's worth i started at 90k in small city and still have not reached anywhere close to 120k, but im sure you'd know more.
 
This is not true at all, stop spreading misinformation. You will NOT be able to pick small city of your choice. Usually it will be somewhere noone wants to go to. Small cities often have 1 or 2 hospitals at most and contrary to what you think, theyre not always hiring. But hey, if you find going to local walmart, fast food places as exciting for your source of entertainment to spend your "120k" then go for it. For what it's worth i started at 90k in small city and still have not reached anywhere close to 120k, but im sure you'd know more.

Sadly most of the people getting into pharmacy will not believe you. They definitely have way more knowledge about it than people working or say you're just an exception. Either that or their gpa is so low nothing else they can do with their lives.
 
Sadly most of the people getting into pharmacy will not believe you. They definitely have way more knowledge about it than people working or say you're just an exception. Either that or their gpa is so low nothing else they can do with their lives.

And of course, they'll just say that they're paaaaaaaaasionate about pharmacy and do not know imagine doing anything else, even if they have never stepped foot in a pharmacy.
 
I enjoy what I do as a pharmacy tech, even on the "bad" days it still is relatively enjoyable (working local, independent, rural retail). I considered medicine for a while, but I just get put off by the amount of schooling required. Pharmacy seems like a happy medium in terms of enjoyment, schooling, and pay. I understand the field is saturated and there are pay cuts, etc. I genuinely enjoy it though, and I would be fine working in a rural area as I do now. Maybe I am being foolish, though.
 
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